The Road To Saulte Saint Marie
by dS-Tiff
Summary: What are Fraser and RayK thinking as they drive through the night to get on the Henry Allen?  This is a 'Missing Scene' from the episode 'Mountie on the Bounty  Part 1


_This is a possible 'Missing Scene' from Mountie on the Bounty (Part 1). Please feel free to submit a review. Thank you kindly._

**The Road To Saulte Saint Marie**__

"Alright, say we drive like hell, I mean, put the pedal to the metal...can we get to, er, Sault Sainte Marie and get on the Henry Anderson before she sails?" Ray had a feeling he was going to regret asking that.

"Allen," Fraser corrected, "Henry Allen."

Ray smiled ruefully. _He's doing it again, _he thought to himself.

"Yes," finished Fraser.

"Right, Allen," Ray agreed, reluctantly. Fraser nodded slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable as he realised what he'd done, again. Ray stared at his partner for a moment, trying to make a decision. _C'mon Kowalski, _he thought, his head beginning to spin, _you can't not do this. _"Go on," he said suddenly and grabbing his jacket off the car he opened the door and got into the driving seat. As Fraser settled himself in the passenger seat, Ray switched on the car headlights and they drove off into the night.

They sat in silence for the first hour. Fraser stared out of the window, his elbow balanced on the inside of the door, resting his chin on his knuckles. Ray just drove as fast as he could. He knew they had to be on that ship before she sailed if they had any hope of figuring out what the hell was going on. All this talk of pirates and treasure and now ghost ships was beginning to freak him out. As he'd stood on the dockside before, listening to Fraser tell him about the Robert McKenzie, he knew that he couldn't let it go and he knew that Fraser wasn't going to let it go either. Fraser had become quite emotional as he'd told of how those thirty two men had lost their lives in the early hours of that cold November day. Something was going on and they just had to find out what it was.

Ray glanced across at his partner. He watched as Fraser's tongue darted out and coated his lower lip. Fraser didn't go quiet very often and Ray was feeling very uncomfortable about it. _Why did I hit him? _Ray thought to himself. _That look on his face, why did I do it? Why do I always do this? Why do I always drive people away? _He quickly turned his eyes back to the road.

Fraser was thinking about what his father had said to him. "You need the Yank. Swallow the pride, Son," he'd said. _Have I ruined this with my pride? _Fraser wondered. _Am I really so incapable of letting him be himself, letting him do things his way, of trusting his judgement, that I've ruined one of the best partnerships I've ever had? One of the best friendships? I do trust him, I trust him with my life. Why can't I make him see that?_

Ray couldn't stand the silence any more. "Fraser," he said, quietly.

Fraser's head snapped round to look at his friend. "Yes Ray?" he said, trying to sound as nonplussed as he could.

"Er, what d'ya think's goin' on?" asked Ray, desperately trying to make conversation.

"I'm not entirely sure at this juncture," admitted Fraser, glad of the opportunity to talk about the case for a while. "It's clear that criminal activity is taking place on the Henry Allen, but I am unsure with regards to the exact nature of said activity."

"But ya don't believe in ghosts or nothin' like that, right?" Ray asked, with half a smile.

"Ghosts?" Fraser hesitated for a moment. His father's appearances were one thing, but an entire ship? Even he found that impossible to believe. "Well, that's just silly Ray."

"Right," replied Ray. He stared at the road ahead, he wasn't sure what else to say, but Fraser spoke again instead.

"Ray," he began. Ray glanced at him and then turned his eyes back to the road. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doin' what?" replied Ray with a shrug, "drivin' through the night to get on a boat somewhere in the frozen north so ya can get me into god knows what kinda trouble y'mean?"

"Well, I wouldn't have put it like that exactly..." began Fraser, but Ray interrupted him.

"Oh what a surprise," he sneered sarcastically. "Well tell me, Fraser, tell me, er, how exactly would ya have put it, huh? How exactly could ya have improved on what I just said 'cause I'm clearly not able to even say stuff right any more?" Ray's nostrils flared as he felt he anger rising inside of him again.

"Ray, please," Fraser tried to stay calm, "please don't do this again. I don't want to fight with you."

Ray took a few deep breaths and managed to calm himself slightly. "Sorry," he said quickly.

"For one thing," Fraser continued, even though something in the back of his mind was yelling at him to stop talking, "the climate of Ontario is comparable to that of Illinois and..."

"Shut up Fraser!"

They managed to remain silent for another hour and a half.

As they watched the sun begin to rise over the horizon, Ray yawned. "Ray, why don't you let me drive for a while," suggested Fraser, "you should get some sleep. Driving whilst tired can be very dangerous, your concentration and reaction times are significantly reduced."

"I'm not tired Fraser," replied Ray, curtly.

"Ray, please don't feel the need to punish yourself," Fraser said, quietly. "All of this is entirely my fault."

Ray looked at him incredulously. "What the hell are you talkin' about?" he said, screwing his face up into a puzzled frown.

"Ray Vecchio once told me that I was the most irritating man in the world," continued Fraser. "I assure you that I don't do it intentionally. I don't actively choose to annoy you, I wish I could stop it, but I'm afraid I can't change overnight."

Ray suddenly pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the car. He sighed. "Vecchio was right," he said, without making eye contact with Fraser. Fraser nodded. "OK you drive," continued Ray, opening the car door and walking round to the other side of the car. Fraser got out of the car and began removing his Sam Browne and undoing the buttons on his tunic. Ray watched as he folded his tunic perfectly and placed it neatly on the back seat of the car, together with his belt, right next to Ray's jacket which lay in a dishevelled heap where he had thrown it. "I'm not askin' ya to change Fraser," Ray said, quietly. Fraser looked back at his friend, he could tell that Ray was being sincere, but couldn't think of anything to say in response. They got back into the car and set off. "Remember we got a boat to catch," reminded Ray, "so ya gotta drive fast."

"Understood," nodded Fraser and put his foot down. Ray felt his eyelids closing. He didn't really want to sleep, he didn't want Fraser to think that he couldn't stay awake when Fraser clearly could, but the truth was he hadn't slept at all the previous night. His fight with Fraser had been playing on his mind and he'd lay awake, staring at the ceiling and trying to imagine what his life would be like without his partner by his side. He didn't like it, not one bit, but things had gone too far now, surely? There was no going back now. They'd agreed that this would be their last case and then they'd both take their transfers and go their separate ways. Eventually the real RayVecchio would come back and probably partner up with Fraser again somehow. _I know I can never compete with Vecchio, _sighed Ray as he drifted off to sleep.

Fraser stared at the road ahead as he drove. He could tell that Ray was asleep and he hoped that he'd wake a little more focussed. There was so much he wanted to say to him, but Fraser wasn't very good at expressing his feelings, his father had always told him that it wasn't something that real men do anyway and every time he tried to formulate a sentence it just didn't sound right at all. He wanted Ray to understand that he was so used to being alone that he was struggling to learn how best to work as one half of a partnership. He wanted to learn, he wanted to desperately, but sometimes those old feelings of only having his own thoughts to go on came rushing back and he couldn't do anything about it. He'd grown up knowing that he had to trust his own decisions in order to survive and the give and take that had to exist in a partnership was still difficult for him, even after the years he'd spent in Chicago, first with Ray Vecchio as his partner and now with the new Ray. He knew that Ray needed constant reassurances, that was his nature, he was always doubting himself and Fraser wished he could help him get over that, but it was probably too late now. They'd solve this last case and he'd head back to Canada and Ray would get his own identity back and that would be the end of their partnership, of their friendship. Fraser sighed. This wasn't what he wanted at all.

After a little over two hours, Ray woke suddenly. "Are we there yet?" he asked.

"I'm afraid not Ray," replied Fraser.

"OK buddy," said Ray, sitting upright and running his hands quickly through his hair. "Pull over, I'll drive now."

Fraser wasn't entirely convinced that Ray had had enough sleep, but he didn't want to argue and so he did as Ray asked. They swapped positions again and Ray pulled away, glad he'd managed to get some sleep at least. He began to think about what they may find on the Henry Allen. He hated boats, he hated the water, he couldn't swim although he'd never told Fraser that. He wasn't sure why he'd kept that quiet exactly, it was just something else that made him feel entirely inadequate next to his partner. He was sure that Fraser was probably the strongest swimmer in Canada or something. He sighed again. Fraser was still quiet.

They drove for another three hours without a break. Occasionally, one or other of them made a comment about the case, but they were both avoiding talking about what they should have been talking about. Ray wondered how Fraser managed to stay awake. He didn't notice him yawn once or rub his eyes or do anything that resembled a hint of fatigue. Ray could tell that the prospect of working in what would effectively be an undercover situation on the Henry Allen was making Fraser feel quite tense, although as they crossed the border into Canada, Ray was sure that his partner suddenly looked more relaxed. _Does he hate being in Chicago that much? _Ray wondered. _Perhaps this transfer is what he really wants. Any excuse to get home. Maybe that's it?_

Eventually, they were approaching their destination and Fraser took a moment to brief Ray again on his plan, even though he'd already been through it once. "I know what I'm doing Fraser," Ray said, slightly exasperated. "I've spent the last year undercover, this is gonna to be a piece of cake. I just wanna get it over with so we can get back and..." but his voice trailed off as he realised that he wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to do when he got back to Chicago.

"Ray," Fraser asked, quietly, "do you intend to take your transfer?"

Ray thought for a moment, took a deep breath and turned to look at his partner. He knew there was no point lying to him, Fraser would see straight through the deception. "Dunno yet," he replied, finally. "You?"

Fraser hesitated too, just for a brief moment. "I have no idea at this juncture," he said.

THE END


End file.
